It was the final round of interviews. Or, so the candidate thought.

這是采訪的最后一輪。 或者，所以候選人認為。

She’d spent all day interviewing in our office. As the final interviewer, I walked her out the building. She seemed confident and asked, “How quickly will I hear about a decision?”

她整天都在我們辦公室面試。 作為最后的面試官，我把她帶出了大樓。 她似乎很有信心，問：“我多快能聽到一個決定？”

“You’ll have an answer from Jen, the recruiter, in just a day or two,” I said, trying to hide my optimism. She’d done great.

“試圖在一兩天之內就能得到招聘人員簡的答復，”我說，試圖掩蓋我的樂觀情緒。 她做得很好。

The next day, the six of us who interviewed her met in a crowded conference room. We had a spirited conversation about our key concerns, but most of us were a solid thumbs up to hire, with clear rationale. However, the hiring manager could not make a decision on whether or not to make an offer. Our scheduled meeting time passed, and the next group, who had the conference room reserved, knocked again on the door. As we shuffled out, the hiring manager turned to the recruiter, and said, “Let’s send her the exercise.”

第二天，采訪我們的六個人在擁擠的會議室見了面。 我們就主要問題進行了熱烈的交談，但我們大多數人都堅決反對雇用，并有明確的理由。 但是，招聘經理無法決定是否提出要約。 我們預定的會議時間過去了，預定會議室的下一個小組又敲了敲門。 當我們洗牌時，招聘經理轉向招聘人員，說：“讓我們把鍛煉發給她。”

Uggghhh, I thought to myself.

gg，我心想。

Why assign an exercise? She’s got a great portfolio, did very well at her onsite, and you’ve heard feedback from several interviewers. You need to make a decision now. You’ve gotten so much signal already, why ask her for more?

為什么要進行練習？ 她的工作量很大，在現場工作得非常好，而且您還聽到了幾位面試官的反饋。 您需要立即做出決定。 您已經收到了很多信號，為什么要問她更多呢？

在危機時期保護求職者 (Protecting job seekers in a time of crisis)

Since then, I’ve screened hundreds of other candidates, and became a hiring manager myself.

從那時起，我篩選了數百名其他候選人，并親自成為了招聘經理。

As a candidate, when a recruiter has told me that an exercise is a standard part of their process, my eyes glaze over and I start thinking about other options.

作為候選人，當一名招聘人員告訴我，鍛煉是他們過程的標準組成部分時，我的眼睛瞪大了眼睛，我開始考慮其他選擇。

I firmly believe that design exercises are ineffective and a waste of time.

我堅信設計練習無效且浪費時間。

Now, after a luxuriously long run in a candidate-driven design job market, the COVID-19 pandemic has suddenly thrown job seekers into an employer-driven job market.

現在，在以候選人為主導的設計工作市場上進行了漫長的長期運作后，COVID-19大流行突然將求職者帶入了以雇主為主導的工作市場。

Hiring managers are finding lots of top talent on the market. There are lines of back-up candidates and less pressure to overpay.

招聘經理正在市場上找到許多頂尖人才。 有很多后備人選，減少了多付的壓力。

Let’s be sure to not let the flawed practice of design exercises become prevalent in an ill-fated attempt to make hungry candidates jump through hoops to compete for a job.

我們一定不要讓設計練習中有缺陷的做法在失敗的嘗試中盛行，這種失敗的嘗試是使饑餓的求職者跳上籃筐競爭工作。

There are many things that both job candidates and hiring managers can do to avoid leaning on the crutch of a design exercise.

應聘者和招聘經理都可以做很多事情，以避免依賴設計工作的the腳。

真的好心意 (Good intentions, really)

為什么招聘經理使用設計練習 (Why hiring managers use design exercises)

The biggest reason design exercises have been given is that the candidates’ portfolio is missing (or has scant examples of) some particular type of work that’s necessary for the job. Typically, it’s either process work or high-fidelity, high-quality final deliverables. It could be that they don’t have a lot of mobile work, or motion design. Without those types of work examples, the interviewer cannot effectively evaluate if the candidate could be successful in the role.

給出設計練習的最大原因是，候選人的作品集丟失了(或缺少示例)某項工作所需的某些特定類型的工作。 通常，它要么是過程工作，要么是高保真，高質量的最終交付成果。 可能是他們沒有太多的移動工作或動作設計。 沒有這些類型的工作實例，面試官就無法有效地評估應聘者是否可以成功擔任該職位。

Sometimes the hiring manager will call this out, and ask to be shown other projects that might demonstrate the type of work that’s missing. Sometimes.

有時，招聘經理會大聲疾呼，并要求向其他人展示可能證明所缺工作類型的項目。 有時候 。

Other times, it’s straight to the offending email from the recruiter with, “Before proceeding, we’d like you to complete the attached take home exercise.”

在其他時候，直接發給招聘人員的冒犯電子郵件，上面寫著：“在繼續之前，我們希望您完成所附的家庭練習。”

問題所在 (The Problems)

提示與分配的時間不匹配 (The prompt never matches the time allotted)

Now, I believe that most hiring managers know that asking candidates to spend hours and hours of their time doing design exercises for free is wrong. That’s because the exercise instructions I have seen all say, “the recommended time spent on this is 3 to 6 hours.” Maybe 4 to 8 hours. Maybe one weekend.

現在，我相信大多數招聘經理都知道，要求應聘者花費大量時間免費進行設計練習是錯誤的。 這是因為我看過的所有鍛煉說明都說：“建議的鍛煉時間為3到6個小時。” 可能需要4到8個小時。 也許一個周末。

The glaring problem is, 3 to 6 hours isn’t enough time to execute a project that demonstrates their robust design process (e.g. problem framing, research, ideation, refinement, testing, final delivery, learnings, etc.). And it certainly isn’t enough time to create high-quality final UI deliverables. Often, I’ve seen design exercise prompts that ask candidates to produce both process and final deliverables, in a few hours! (After you’ve worked all day at your current job.)

明顯的問題是，3到6個小時不足以執行一個能夠證明其強大設計過程的項目(例如，問題框架，研究，構想，完善，測試，最終交付，學習等)。 當然，現在還沒有足夠的時間來創建高質量的最終UI交付物。 我經常看到設計練習提示，要求求職者在幾個小時內制作過程和最終交付物！ (當您整天從事當前工作后。)

What ends up happening is the candidate wants to put their best foot forward. So, they spend loads of time on the exercise. All along, they’re stressed that it’s taking longer than the recommended time. Dozens of hours? Couple of all-nighters? Two full weekends? And ultimately, they turn in a project that is a shell of the other projects in their portfolios. It’s loaded with disclaimers of, “If I had more time, I would have done…” Or, “I would polish these more…”

最終發生的事情是候選人想盡自己最大的努力。 因此，他們在練習上花費了大量時間。 一直以來，他們一直在強調，這比建議的時間更長。 幾十個小時？ 幾個通宵？ 兩個完整的周末？ 最終，他們提交了一個項目，該項目是其投資組合中其他項目的外殼。 它帶有免責聲明，“如果我有更多的時間，我會做的……”或者“我會進一步完善這些……”

Next time you meet a hiring manager who thinks they have created a good exercise prompt, ask them and their direct reports to complete it themselves (in 3 to 6 hours). And ask them to create a repository of bad, good, and great exercise responses on which future exercise responses can be judged. Ain’t gonna happen. They’re too busy…

下次您遇到一名招聘經理時，認為他們創建了良好的鍛煉提示，請他們和他們的直接報告自己完成(3至6個小時)。 并要求他們創建一個不好，很好和很好的運動React的資料庫，以判斷未來的運動React。 不會發生的。 他們太忙了...

沒有人有時間運動 (No one has time for your exercise)

Candidates are very busy. It’s no secret that looking for a job is a full-time job. Candidates are employees, students, or caregivers. They may be in the midst of relocating their family across the country. Everyone has busy personal lives that demand a lot of their time. You’re asking them to make time by sacrificing other parts of their lives- school, sleep, work, family time, and more.

候選人很忙。 找工作是全職工作已經不是什么秘密了。 候選人是雇員，學生或照料者。 他們可能正在全家搬遷。 每個人的生活忙碌，需要很多時間。 您要他們通過犧牲生活的其他部分(例如上學，睡眠，工作，家庭時間等等)來抽出時間。

該練習本身并非旨在獲得有用的回應 (The exercise itself isn’t designed to get a helpful response)

Candidates who don’t have a clear understanding of what “success” looks like in an exercise response, won’t be set up to succeed.

對運動React中“成功”的表象不了解的候選人將不會被設置為成功。

And, with a desire to make the exercise feel light-weight, hiring managers write a short description of the exercise, which lacks any rationale for giving the exercise that is specific to the candidate. The prompt often has unclear instructions and brief expectations on deliverables. Typically, the prompt sets a little context, describes a problem, and has some open-ended questions along with a short description of what to deliver.

而且，由于希望使練習感到輕巧，招聘經理對練習進行了簡短描述，但缺乏針對候選人進行練習的任何理由。 提示中通常會有不清楚的指示，并且對可交付成果的期望很簡短。 通常，提示會設置一些上下文，描述一個問題，并帶有一些開放式問題以及對要交付內容的簡短描述。

It’s no wonder that when the exercise is turned in, you might hear, “Well, they took an approach that we weren’t looking for. This isn’t very helpful.”

難怪當練習開始時，您可能會聽到：“好吧，他們采用了我們所不希望的方法。 這不是很有幫助。”

Also, saying to a candidate, “Go away by yourself, without any knowledge of your users or this industry, without any data on key business metrics, and spend several hours doing X, Y, and Z” is not reflective of how your designers actually work.

另外，對應聘者說：“在沒有您的用戶或這個行業的任何知識的情況下，自己走開，沒有關于關鍵業務指標的任何數據，花幾個小時做X，Y和Z”，這并不反映您的設計師如何實際工作。

為了說服他們說“是”，招聘團隊對鍛煉React的模樣并不一致 (Hiring teams aren’t aligned on what the exercise response should look like in order to persuade them to a “Yes”)

Other common comments on exercises are, “I wish they had shown more iterations and refinement.” Or, “they didn’t include any user testing.” And, “why did they stop at wireframes instead of high-fidelity UI?”

關于練習的其他常見評論是：“我希望他們顯示出更多的迭代和改進。” 或者，“它們不包含任何用戶測試。” 而且，“為什么它們停在線框而不是高保真UI？”

When that hiring manager told the recruiter to send the exercise, I wanted to ask, “What exactly do you need to see in her exercise response to get you to a ‘Yes’?”

當那個招聘經理告訴招聘者發送練習時，我想問：“您需要在練習中清楚看到什么才能使您獲得'是'？”

Based on his answer, I’d ask, “Do we all agree? If so, is the exercise designed to produce that? How do we know?”

根據他的回答，我會問：“我們都同意嗎？ 如果是這樣，該練習是否旨在產生這種效果？ 我們怎么知道？”

Everyone on the hiring team would have to be aligned on what they need to see (that they haven’t already seen in the portfolio, in the interviews, etc.) in order to be persuaded to make a stronger case to hire the person. They would need to be bought-in that the exercise will produce an appropriate response. Have you ever seen this happen? I haven’t.

招聘團隊中的每個人都必須根據他們需要看的東西(他們在投資組合中，面試中尚未見過的東西)保持一致，以便說服他們提出更充分的理由來雇用該人。 他們需要接受，這樣練習才能產生適當的響應。 您見過這種情況嗎？ 我沒有

練習的其他(而且只是簡單的邪惡)原理 (Additional (and just plain evil) rationale for exercises)

The common rationale and my rebuttals:

共同理由和我的反駁：

• “We give everyone an exercise, even very senior candidates. I had to do one. It’s just our process.” If they have a strong, complete portfolio, there’s no justifying an exercise.

  “我們為所有人提供鍛煉，甚至是非常資深的候選人。 我不得不做一個。 這只是我們的過程。” 如果他們擁有強大而完整的產品組合，那么就沒有理由進行演習。

• “They’re young and inexperienced, so they should be happy to have a chance to prove themselves. They just graduated and aren’t working yet, so they have the time. Plus, if they don’t get a job soon, they have to leave the country.” We should respect the most vulnerable candidates the most. We shouldn’t take advantage of inexperienced or sometimes desperate candidates.

  “他們還年輕，沒有經驗，所以他們應該很高興有機會證明自己。 他們剛剛畢業，還沒有工作，所以他們有時間。 另外，如果他們很快找不到工作，就必須離開該國。” 我們應該最尊重最脆弱的候選人。 我們不應該利用經驗不足或絕望的候選人。

• “I don’t know if they did the work in their portfolio, or if it was done by someone else on their team. So, an exercise will show what only they can do.” Telling a candidate that you don’t trust them right away is the wrong way to start a relationship. Strong candidates clearly list their specific contributions for each group project. If they don’t, just ask. And if you’re still unsure, ask probing questions to understand the why behind their design explorations and decisions. I assume the best in people, and that candidates won’t blatantly take credit for the work of others, since they’ll quickly be shown as an impostor if given the job. (Plus, can’t they always outsource the design exercise you give them?)

  “我不知道他們是否在自己的投資組合中完成了工作，或者是否由團隊中的其他人完成了。 因此，練習將顯示只有他們才能做的事情。” 告訴應聘者您不立即信任他們是建立關系的錯誤方法。 優秀的候選人清楚地列出了他們對每個小組項目的具體貢獻。 如果沒有，問一下。 如果您仍然不確定，請詢問一些問題以了解其設計探索和決策背后的原因。 我認為最好的人選是，候選人不會公然地為別人的工作而稱贊，因為如果得到這份工作，他們很快就會被視為冒名頂替者。 (此外，他們難道不總是將您提供給他們的設計工作外包嗎？)

• “Let’s make the exercise prompt about a real problem we’re working on, so we can judge if they can solve the type of problems we work on.” In the back of every candidate’s mind, “Are they just going to take my ideas and use them without hiring me? How screwed up is that?”

  “讓我們Swift提示我們正在解決的實際問題，以便我們判斷它們是否可以解決我們正在解決的問題類型。” 在每個候選人的腦海中，“他們是否只是要接受我的想法并使用它們而不雇用我？ 這是怎么搞砸的？”

• “We have such high demand from people who want to work here, that we give an exercise before the first onsite to screen out the people who don’t really want to do whatever it takes to join us.” By not conducting a portfolio review interview before an exercise, you haven’t given a promising candidate a real chance to provide context to the work in their portfolio, to clarify their contributions, to discuss confidential projects they can’t put online, to answer questions. You’re just wasting everyone’s time.

  “我們對想要在這里工作的人的需求如此之高，以至于我們在第一個現場進行演習之前就篩選出那些真的不想做任何事情加入我們的人。” 通過在練習前不進行項目組合審查面試，您就沒有給有前途的候選人提供在項目組合中提供工作背景，澄清其貢獻，討論他們無法在線進行的機密項目，回答問題的真正機會。問題。 您只是在浪費每個人的時間。

• “I can’t decide whether to hire or not. I just wanna see a little more work to be sure.” Really? Even after the recruiter screened them, you interviewed them, and the key team members shared their specific feedback? You still need more? It’s a “No”. Time to move on.

  “我無法決定是否雇用。 我只是想看到更多的工作可以肯定。” 真？ 即使在招聘人員篩選了他們之后，您也采訪了他們，關鍵團隊成員也分享了他們的具體反饋？ 您還需要更多嗎？ 這是“否”。 分手后要往前看了。

那么，我們該怎么辦呢？ (So, what can we do instead?)

作為候選人，您應該積極填補投資組合中的空白 (As a candidate, you should proactively fill the gaps in your portfolio)

Overall, you should get clarity on which skills employers are looking for when filling the type of role you are going after. Read lots of job descriptions. Have informational interviews with designers. Attend design industry events. (Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, you find them during breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

總的來說，您應該清楚雇主在擔任所要擔任的職務時需要尋找哪些技能。 閱讀大量的職位描述。 對設計師進行信息采訪。 參加設計行業活動。 (在舊金山灣區，您可以在早餐 ， 午餐和晚餐時找到它們)。

Here’s the difficult part: create a portfolio that demonstrates your level of competency for those skills. There are tons of resources online for how to create a portfolio. Checkout my portfolio tips for landing a product design internship.

這是困難的部分：創建一個投資組合，以證明您具備這些技能的能力。 在線上有大量資源可用于創建投資組合。 查看我的產品組合技巧以獲取產品設計實習機會 。

Then, take a hard look at your body of work. What’s missing?

然后，仔細查看您的工作內容。 少了什么東西？

Where are you weak or inexperienced? Ask a friend or colleague for their honest feedback.

您在哪里虛弱或缺乏經驗？ 向朋友或同事詢問他們的誠實反饋。

Then get to work filling the gaps in your portfolio.

然后開始工作，填補投資組合中的空白。

Your portfolio may only have desktop, enterprise work, yet you want to switch to consumer-facing mobile products. Yes, you have a lot of skills that would transfer to mobile, but adding some mobile projects to your portfolio would remove any doubt.

您的產品組合可能只有臺式機和企業級產品，但是您想切換到面向消費者的移動產品。 是的，您有很多技能可以轉移到移動設備上，但是將一些移動項目添加到您的產品組合中可以消除任何疑問。

So, here’s where you have control. You can choose to spend as much or as little time as you want to add some mobile work. On your schedule.

因此，這就是您控制的地方。 您可以選擇花費多少時間來添加一些移動工作。 按您的時間表。

Ideas:

想法：

• Redesign one of your existing desktop projects for mobile
  重新設計您現有的移動設備桌面項目之一
• Design a smartwatch app related to a favorite hobby of yours
  設計與您最喜歡的愛好相關的智能手表應用
• If you’re freelancing, aim for clients who need mobile work
  如果您是自由職業者，則針對需要移動工作的客戶

Maybe you’re strong on design research and UX design, but lack a lot of experience creating and shipping pixel-perfect UI design. It’s gonna be tough to land a full-stack product design role. So, join a couple of hackathons where you’re the only designer and gotta do it all: research, sketch, prototype, final design, build. Or, consult for your friend’s startup where you design (and help ship) their first app.

也許您在設計研究和UX設計方面很擅長，但是缺乏創建和交付像素完美UI設計的大量經驗。 要獲得全棧產品設計角色將很困難。 因此，加入幾個您唯一的設計師的hackathon，就必須完成所有工作：研究，草圖，原型，最終設計，構建。 或者，請咨詢您朋友的創業公司，在該公司中設計(并幫助交付)他們的第一個應用程序。

No experience coding or prototyping? Take some evening courses, such as those at General Assembly.

沒有編碼或原型制作經驗？ 參加一些夜間課程，例如在大會上 。

Ideally, your portfolio will include multiple projects highlighting the type of work your future employer needs. However, even one really stand-out project can get you noticed and on your way to being hired.

理想情況下，您的投資組合將包括多個項目，以突出您未來雇主需要的工作類型。 但是，即使是一個真正出色的項目也可以使您受到關注，并在您被錄用的途中。

招聘經理應明確傳達角色要求并提供建設性的投資組合反饋 (Hiring managers should clearly communicate the requirements for the role and provide constructive portfolio feedback)

Writing job descriptions is hard. But clearly defining which skills, and the competency level needed for each of those skills, is critical to your company’s ability to attract qualified talent and to your team’s ability to effectively evaluate candidates- and ultimately make a hiring decision.

撰寫職位描述很難。 但是，明確定義哪些技能以及每種技能所需的能力水平，對于公司吸引合格人才的能力以及團隊有效評估候選人的能力至關重要，并最終做出招聘決定。

If you don’t need someone to do visual design, but rather upfront UX strategy, then clearly say so in the job description and sourcing calls. If you really need someone who can do motion design, be sure to list that.

如果您不需要某人進行視覺設計，而需要先行的UX策略，那么請在職位說明和采購電話中明確說明。 如果您確實需要可以進行運動設計的人員，請確保將其列出。

Avoid vague job descriptions that are trying to capture a range of designers from entry level to senior. Be sure you know which level of talent you’re looking for, and articulate that so candidates can identify potential roles for themselves, tweak their portfolios for that opening, and apply with confidence.

避免使用模糊的職位描述來吸引從入門級到高級的一系列設計師。 確保知道您正在尋找的人才水平，并清楚地表明候選人可以自己確定潛在角色，調整職位空缺并放心地申請。

If a promising candidate comes through with a portfolio that’s missing some key type of work, then tell them, and explain why that type of work is critical to success in the open role. Ask them if they have other projects to share. If not, give them some ideas on how they might fill that skills gap and encourage them to reapply.

如果有前途的候選人遇到的投資組合中缺少某些關鍵類型的工作，請告訴他們，并說明為什么這種類型的工作對于成功擔任公開職位至關重要。 詢問他們是否還有其他項目要共享。 如果沒有，請給他們一些關于如何填補技能空白并鼓勵他們重新申請的想法。

沒有設計練習的未來 (A future without design exercises)

To all design hiring managers out there, I ask, “Commit to no exercises.” But first, do the legwork to clearly define and communicate the skills needed for the role.

對于所有在那里的設計招聘經理，我問：“不要練習。” 但是首先，做腿工作，以明確定義和傳達角色所需的技能。

Candidates, you have work to do as well. Go the extra mile to be self-aware of your portfolio gaps, and fill them- on your own terms. Don’t give employers any reason to assign you an exercise. Go out there with your full breadth of work, apply with confidence, and join a team that has an effective hiring process and respects the hard work you’ve put into your portfolio.

候選人，您還有工作要做。 多花些功夫以自我意識到自己的投資組合缺口，并按照自己的意愿來填補它們。 不要給雇主任何理由讓您參加鍛煉。 全力以赴地工作，充滿信心地申請，并加入一個擁有有效招聘流程并尊重您在自己的工作組合中所付出的辛勤工作的團隊。

PS如何拒絕設計練習 (P.S. How to decline a design exercise)

After publishing, I’ve gotten questions about how to decline an exercise when you’re given one. First, send them this blog, and blame me. Kidding, but not really.

發布后，我遇到了有關如何在獲得鍛煉后如何拒絕鍛煉的問題。 首先，向他們發送此博客，并怪我。 開玩笑，但不是真的。

It would for sure be difficult to do, but I believe you are up for it. Assuming you’ve flushed out your portfolio and they have an accurate job description, you can say no “because based on the job description, my portfolio demonstrates the skills that are needed to be successful in the role.” And be frank with, “I’m busy working/taking classes/caregiving, so I’m unavailable to do unpaid work right now.” Make sure you have many leads going so you can express how you’re progressing with companies that don’t require exercises.

這肯定會很難做到，但我相信您會為此而努力。 假設您已經沖銷了自己的投資組合，并且他們具有準確的職位描述，那么您可以說不“因為基于職位描述，我的投資組合展示了成功擔任該職位所需的技能。” 并坦率地說：“我正在忙于工作/上課/護理，所以我現在無法進行無薪工作。” 確保有很多潛在客戶，這樣您就可以表達您在不需要演習的公司中的進展情況。

Ultimately, it’s a great opportunity to get to the bottom of why they want to give you an exercise- you may learn about a gap you hadn’t seen in your portfolio, or you may learn they rely on one of my “evil” reasons listed above- in that case, steer clear!

最終，這是一個深入了解他們為什么要給您做運動的絕好機會-您可能會了解自己在投資組合中未曾看到的差距，或者您可能會得知他們依靠我的“邪惡”原因之一上面列出的-在這種情況下，請避開！

作者 (The Author)

Eric Burns is curious and inspired by other creatives who pursue their passions. He was most recently a Product Design Manager with a focus on the employee journey side of Design Operations: recruiting, education, and culture. He honed his UX Design and UX Research skills at frog design, led different design teams at Uber, and is currently focused full-time on being a dad.

埃里克·伯恩斯 ( Eric Burns )充滿好奇，并受到其他追求激情的創意的啟發。 他最近是產品設計經理，主要負責設計運營的員工旅程：招聘，教育和文化。 他在 青蛙設計 方面磨練了UX設計和UX研究技能， 在 Uber 領導了不同的設計團隊， 目前全職致力于成為父親。